Ukraine's Renewed Kursk Push Flops As Talk Of Negotiation Swirls

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According to the Russians, between January 5th and 6th, the Ukrainians tried 10 separate counterattacks and suffered heavy losses. The Russians report that around 480 Ukrainian soldiers were killed or wounded in Kursk. No numbers have been released on Russian losses. Meanwhile reports from the field suggest the Russians are reversing earlier territorial losses in Kursk and pushing Ukraine's forces back.

Meanwhile the Russians have taken over the town of Kurakhovo in Donetsk. The Russians say the Ukrainians committed 15,000 troops there, made up of“elite units, nationalist formations and foreign mercenaries.” While the Russian defense ministry has not released any numbers, Russian mil-bloggers are saying that as many as 12,000 Ukrainians were killed or wounded and around 40 Ukrainian tanks destroyed. Kurakhovo was an important logistical hub for the Ukrainian army operating in Donetsk.-

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visits positions on the front line in the Donetsk region in December. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service

Separately Russian forces continue pushing toward Pokrovsk which hosts a critical railway junction that supplies ammunition for Ukraine's eastern front. At the same time, the battle for Chasiv Yar is nearing an end as the Russians control almost the entire city and the fighting is in an industrial area. Numerous stories have been put out by the Ukrainian side claiming they have turned around the Russian offensive, but there is no confirmation for the claims so far.

Ukraine also attacked the Zaphorize Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) with eight fixed wing drones. All were intercepted, but parts of one drone crashed into the roof of the ZNPP Training Center. Ukraine's fixed wing drones are larger and carry more explosives than quadcopters.

The Russians report no serious damage to the ZNPP and no radiation leaks. However, Ukrainian attempts to damage or destroy nuclear power plants are difficult to explain, since the likely victims of a damaged nuclear power plant are Ukrainians. Speculation says that Ukraine wants to create a provocation or incident that draws in NATO to come to Ukraine's defense. If true, this is a remarkably cynical and dangerous move and unlikely to lead to any outcome desired by Ukraine.

There are plenty of mixed signals about negotiations trying to settle the war in Ukraine. Russia's UN Ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya said that the Trump administration proposed“nothing of interest” to the Russian side. Nebenzya spoke to Rossiya-1 TV channel on January 3rd, which confirmed the December 26 meeting at Dulles Airport exclusively reported by Weapons and Strategy . Nebenzya went on to comment that the Trump proposals were“unformed, vague signals.”-

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Vasily Nebenzya had previously served as Russian deputy foreign minister. Photo: Alexander Shcherbak/TASS/

The Trump team has been staying quiet about its future plans for negotiations, suggesting that the Dulles“channel” was not the only contact in play regarding Ukraine.